Friday, October 26, 2012

Makeup Tip #24 - Costume Makeup Tips for Adults and Children

This weekend will be a big weekend for Halloween festivities and the costume contests will probably continue into the school and work week.If you still don't know what your costume is going to be OR you don't feel like investing in a costume, I would like to remind you that makeup is a simple and easy way to change your whole appearance. Here are just a few ideas for you:

Vampires are fairly "normal" looking creatures, but they have really pale skin & sunken facial features. Dark shadow on the eyes and under cheek bones create a more hollow effect.

Mimes are pretty easy with the white paint and black around the eyes.

Glitters and highly pigmented shadows can be used to create artistic designs on the face and you can even create masks.

Crazy eyelashes can provide lots of inspiration.

I highly recommend doing a makeup trial run before the actual event, so you can visually inspect the look and make an inventory list of other items that may be needed to complete the look or make it really stand out. You can also test for skin sensitivity and allergies at this time too.Also, if you are using makeup from previous years, make sure your makeup is still good:

smell products and don't use if the odor is off

check for liquid separation and color consistency

if product is in a tube, make sure it hasn't dried up

When trying out strongly pigmented colors, it's a good idea to test water resistance on the back of your hand. When you test for water resistance, you can determine what the product will do to clothing and you can also find out what products will REMOVE the makeup. Remember to remove makeup before going to bed!If you need to use spirit gum to apply products to your skin, make sure you have spirit gum remover on hand!

When applying makeup to children here are a few tips to remember:

You don't have to paint a child's entire face to make them look like an animal - simply add a spot of color to the tip of their nose and add whiskers and freckles as needed. (Little ones can get scared easily - so for some, a costume will be more than enough - this is supposed to be a FUN event for them - don't forget that!)

Be sure to check for makeup sensitivity before putting makeup all over your little one.

I strongly recommend avoiding glitters on children - they rub their eyes and faces too much. While there are glitters for the face, it's better to err on the side of caution here (glitter can do a lot of damage to the eyes).

Use GENTLE products to remove makeup from children's skin - again a practice test for this will make everyone's life easier (especially after a late night and too much sugar)!